News

December, 31

Idina Menzel: ‘Sometimes I want to sing sad songs’

Idina Menzel wishes she could write about everything wrong with her life rather than penning songs about finding inner strength.

The singer-and-actress soared to stardom thanks to her performances in Tony-award winning musicals Rent and Wicked, which led her to be cast as Elsa in Disney’s Frozen. And while she has a resume full of powerful, uplifting material, there have been few opportunities for Idina to express her true feelings through music - despite her frequently longing to.

“Sometimes, I wish I could sing a song about how I hate life,” she sighed to Gay Times magazine. “I can’t tell you how many times I come in to write a session and want to write about feeling completely s**tty about myself and how everything is wrong in my life and it always ends up turning into making it a better place and finding the strength inside and I HATE it.”

But since becoming a mother to seven-year-old son Walker with now ex-husband Taye Diggs, Idina has been given a “whole new perspective” on life and now sees herself as a driving force for her little boy.

It also helps that she’s released a new solo album, idina., which hit shelves in September (16) and is from a much more personal place.

“I had a lot to say, y’know?” she mused. “I had had a full, rich three years that I wanted to write music about. I’d gone through a lot of changes in my life and I felt ready to get in there and sing about it.”

It’s bound to be a relief to Walker to hear some new songs too, as Idina admits her son is “sick” of hearing her hit Frozen track Let It Go all the time. He even mocks her for it, putting on his mum’s heels and one of her bras stuffed with newspaper to sing the famous tune.